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“Return of the Dapper Men” Pin-up Artists Revealed

As the buzz for the upcoming Archaia original graphic novel RETURN OF THE DAPPER MEN continues to grow, so does the roster of Dapper men and women who are contributing to the book Examiner.com has called “groundbreaking” and iFanboy.com says is “shaping up to be the ‘it-book’ of New York Comic Con.”

In addition to award-winning designer Todd Klein providing the cover and interior design work, an incredible array of artists have put on their best bowler hats and pinstripes to create a remarkable gallery of pin-ups that will be appearing in the book. From some of today’s hottest comic book and graphic artists comes a variety of takes on the incredible world and characters of RETURN OF THE DAPPER MEN (hardcover, full color, 128 pages, 9.5″ x 11″, $24.95), created from the minds of Jim McCann (Hawkeye & Mockingbird) and acclaimed visual artist Janet Lee.

The full list of contributors to the 12 pin-ups featured in the book is as follows:

“The fact that this many people wanted to and agreed to provide their own vision of a world that has existed for so long only in our minds was mind-blowing,” says the book’s author, Jim McCann. “The sheer volume of talent and the spectrum of the way each artist approached the work has been overwhelming and exciting to watch.”

Here is what some of the all-star contributors had to say about their experience, the art and the story of RETURN OF THE DAPPER MEN:

“Return of the Dapper Men has a fun, unique story mixed with fairy tale-like artwork that makes this a graphic novel unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It’s a treat for the reader and sure to be a book that you keep coming back to for another read!” – Katie Cook (Fraggle Rock)

“Jim McCann has let his imagination run free with Return of the Dapper Men and it’s turned into a soaring, joyful parkour of a run. Ably abetted by the absolutely wonderful illustrations by Janet Lee, this book is a remarkable achievement.” – Mike Perkins (The Stand)

“I’m just happy Jim let me draw his characters! I was instantly in love with Janet’s art and designs to begin with. And Jim’s concept alone is just inspiring!” – Adrian Alphona (Runaways)

“After I agreed to contribute a pinup for Return of the Dapper Men, I was given a rather large folder of wordless comic pages to peruse and see what caught my eye. While all of Janet’s character designs would have been fun to interpret, the clockwork angel called out the loudest. A blend of robot and human forms with Victorian sensibilities (holding roman numerals-perfect design elements!), I couldn’t resist taking a stab at envisioning her in my style. I hope I did Janet and Jim proud!” – Tom Whalen (Illustrator, WIRED)

“I was super excited to do a pin-up for the book; such a beautiful story and art. I found a lot of Magritte-esque inspiration from it, so I really tried to incorporate that into my design.” – Dave Perillo (Illustrator, Disney TV Animation)

“I really fell in love with Zoe. Janet’s design was so cute and innocent, I wanted to explore the character in my style and see where I could take her. One of the things I greatly appreciated about the script was the thought put into every aspect. From the names, to philosophical concepts, to certain elements of numerology, I totally dug the subtle nature of everything. I wanted to incorporate this ideology into the piece. I’d can’t wait to read this with my daughter.” – John Tyler Christopher (Witchblade)

A visual tour de force, RETURN OF THE DAPPER MEN is the debut graphic novel from the minds of award-winning writer Jim McCann (Hawkeye & Mockingbird) and critically acclaimed gallery artist Janet Lee. A modern twist on classic fairy tales, this is a story about growing up, childhood fears and examining the origins of a world and the things that inhabit it. The incredible decoupage art style combines steampunk fantasy and science fiction with Art Nouveau for a truly unique and groundbreaking book, all sharply dressed in a pinstripe suit and a dapper bowler hat. RETURN OF THE DAPPER MEN will have a limited number of copies available at New York Comic Con, October 8-10 at the Jacob Javits Center in New York, and will be available wherever books are sold in November. To pre-order a copy, use ISBN code 978-1932386905.